The Ugly Truths
by SearchingForThatBlueBox
Summary: So many things are happening in Tony's life. First, his father has a heart attack, then he finds out he's adopted; the shocking revelations never end for him. Soon, they embark on a new case that is linked to Ziva. Lies hidden for many years are revealed.
1. Thirty Five years Ago

Okay, so this is my first fanfic for NCIS. I don't know if I should continue this. So if the reviewers (you guys) want me to continue, I will. I'll start this off with the prologue and the first chapter.

This story is slightly AU due to obvious reasons and the time frame. I could've picked a different woman for this story, but I wanted it to be Shannon.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters... in this story.

Prologue

Thirty Five Years Ago

Shannon paced her room as she was contemplating what to do with the new results she had received. She had only met Leroy Jethro Gibbs twice and had irreversibly fallen in love with him. But, now he was gone and she didn't know what to do. She had received news earlier that day that she was six weeks pregnant. Her mother would kill her. Her mother was very Christian and to find out her daughter was expecting and she wasn't married would infuriate her, maybe she'd even disown her. Of one thing she knew for sure, she wouldn't get rid of her child.

Three months later

Shannon was starting to show and people at work were starting to stare at her. She would have to tell her boss soon. She had told her mother the previous month and as she had expected her mother had had a conniption. But, as the weeks passed by, her mother had cooled off and supported her daughter through whatever decision she would make. She hadn't told Jethro yet and had decided not to tell him. He wouldn't be back for awhile and he would never find out. She had decided along with her mother that the best decision to make was to give her baby up for adoption. She wasn't financially equipped to take care of her child and she couldn't do it alone. That afternoon she had told her boss and then announced it to her nosy co-workers.

Five months later

The baby squirmed in her arms. He was a beautiful blue eyed baby with brown hair; of course most babies were born with blue eyes. She wondered if her child would have green eyes like hers. It would be the first and only time she could hold her son as his adoptive parents arrived. She didn't know who they were, and it was best that way. She caressed the soft skin of the baby's cheek before a nurse took him away. She cried herself to sleep that night and for the next couple of months.

The Italian couple looked down at the beautiful baby boy. They were already in love with him. "Welcome to our family, Anthony Dane DiNozzo, Jr." His adoptive mother cooed at him. He was there first and only son. Soon the love Anthony Sr. felt for his son became rage and hate as he'd beat his son while in a drunken stupor. His mother died tragically when he was eight and his father never wanted to be around him. He was sent to various boarding schools and later joined Baltimore PD and then moved on to NCIS.

Shannon was reunited with Jethro a year later. They had gotten married and had a daughter. Shannon and her mother would never tell Jethro that he had a son and the secret was brought to the grave with Shannon. Her mother, having made a promise with her daughter, had never told the man, even after she had met up with him recently. She had felt sorry for him when his family died and she thought, that telling about a son that was given away would have sent him over the edge. It would have been close to impossible to find the boy, anyway.

**Next, chapter one.**


	2. Just another day in the Office

Here's the first chapter. I know it's short, but the next ones to come will be longer.

Chapter 1

Just another Day in the Office

Tony looked across at Ziva's empty desk; it wasn't like her to be late. _Maybe it was that Miami guy that was holding her up_, he thought bitterly. Gibbs entered the bullpen to find McGee playing a video game on his computer and Tony had his feet resting on the desk as he starred up at the white ceiling. He goes behind Tony and smacks him on the head and then hits McGee on the head.

"Ow." Tony cries out.

"Get to work." He barks as he sits at his desk. Tony's phone rings. He answers it.

"Very Special Agent DiNozzo here." He says as Gibbs gives him _the_ look; his icy blue eyes glared at him.

"This is Anthony DiNozzo, am I correct?" The person on the other line asks.

"Yes, that's me. Who are you?" He says, annoyed.

"I am Doctor John Carter; your father has been admitted to the hospital. He's suffered a heart attack." All color from Tony's face drains.

"What hospital?" he asks.

"He's at George Washington University Hospital." The doctor answers; Tony hangs up and looks over anxiously at Gibbs.

"Go." Is all he says as Tony rushes over to the elevators, almost colliding into Ziva as she steps out of the elevators.

"What is going on with Tony?" She asks as she puts her bag on the ground.

"His father's in the hospital." Gibbs answers; how he knew that McGee didn't know.

Tony rushed into the hospital, almost running to his father's room. Anthony Sr. saw his son as he ran into his room; he looked panicked.

"Junior." He says sounding pleased to see his son.

"Dad, are you alright?" Tony asks as he gives his father a hug; he wasn't usually that affectionate with his father, but the situation called for it.

"I'm fine, son." He grumbles.

"Dad, you should take better care of yourself." Tony scolds him.

"Anthony," he says slowly, "You have to stop worrying about me. I'm fine." Tony frowns.

"I really don't deserve you as a son. After everything I've done to you and you always forgive me."

"Dad…" Tony tries to protest.

"No, son, let me finish. Almost dying has made me put things into perspective. You deserve to know the truth." Anthony Sr. pauses, thinking about how to tell his son the truth he needed to know.

"Dad, what are talking about? You need to rest." He urges. He notices his face had gotten paler.

"Anthony, I'm so sorry." The man is as close to tears as Tony has ever seen him.

"Dad, calm down okay? You need your rest. You can tell me later."

"No." His father says stubbornly. "I need to finish." Tony looks at his father concerned.

"You didn't deserve the beatings you got. After your mother died I couldn't stand you so I sent you to boarding school. It was my fault, it wasn't because of you, it's because I couldn't stand myself. We decided to have a child because… I always thought your mother would be around. I couldn't raise you on my own." Anthony decided to just come right out with it; he hated beating around the bush.

"Tony, your mother and I couldn't have children." Tony looks at him confused. "We agreed to have one child. The only way we could do that was by adopting. Tony, son, you were adopted. I loved you, that's why I didn't send you into the system, but I… I had to send you to boarding school. I was selfish. I had always wanted a descendant to continue the family business, but I thought that having a child around the house… that I couldn't be with the women I was with. I conned to get money and when you were over I resented you, because you weren't my own. Now I realize you are my son and you always were no matter if we were related by blood." Anthony stops to observe his shell shocked son.

"Bullshit." Is all that escapes Tony's lips. He glares at his father, one question bothered his subconscious.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Anthony sighs. "You are my son. I didn't want you leaving me. I knew once you knew the truth you would try to find your birth parents. I was selfish, but I always loved you." Tony glares at him.

"That's a load of crap! If you loved me you wouldn't have come home drunk and beat the shit out of me." Tony's father looks sad.

"I am so very sorry for the past." He felt so guilty; no words could tell his son what he felt.

"Do you know who they are?" Tony asks. His father shakes his head.

"I'm sorry."

"Fuck you." He spits at his father, as he leaves the hospital room. Leaving his father behind to tend to his own demons.

When Tony got outside he punched the hospital wall. He groaned at the pain and the sound of a bone snapping. He ignored the pain as he drove back to NCIS. When he entered the office Gibbs noticed his bloodied knuckles.

"What d'ya do DiNozzo?" He asks annoyed.

"Punched a wall." He says under clenched teeth. Gibbs head slaps him as he passes him to go to his desk. Ziva gets up from her desk to inspect Tony's hand. When she grabs his hand he hisses in pain.

"Tony," Ziva says in concern, "You broke your pinky."

"Thought so." He ground out.

"What happened Tony? Is it your father? Is he alright?" Tony turns away from her angrily.

"Yeah, he's fine. It's just my dad being my dad. He told me I was adopted. He's such a liar; he never wanted me and now to say I'm adopted?" McGee looks up as he's startled by Tony yelling.

"I'm so sorry Tony. But, why would he lie when he almost died?" Ziva puts in. Gibbs looks up, concern etched on his face. His father had always hurt his son. He felt sorry for his senior agent.

"I can check your records." McGee adds. Tony nods. McGee types rapidly on his computer as they all wait anxiously. McGee looks up grimly at his friend. He turns the screen to him.

"Here's the adoption record. It was a closed adoption so it'll be harder to find your birth parents." Tony felt lightheaded; his world had just been shook upside down. Gibbs puts a reassuring hand on his agents shoulder.

"Take the day off DiNozzo." Tony shakes his head.

"I can't. I… I need to stay here." Ziva looks over at Tony concerned.

"I'll go with him boss." She says.

"I don't need a babysitter, I'm fine." He says.

"Go with him, David." Gibbs says softly. Tony walks into the elevator and sighs when Ziva enters it with him.

"I will drive." She says. Tony chuckles.

"I'd rather live past today. I'll drive." Ziva glares at him.

"I will drive, you are in shock." Tony agrees grudgingly.

"First, we need to see Ducky." She says pointing to his pinky. "I assume you do not want to see a doctor." He nods.

"Why…" he starts. "This doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't I have known this? Someone would've known, I mean I work at NCIS. The director would've seen those records. He should've told me." Ziva shakes her head.

"I do not think anyone knew. McGee is very good at computers. Those files were sealed hard." She says. "Tight." Tony corrects her automatically.

When they exit Ducky's morgue, Tony is wearing a tiny splint on his pinky.

Ducky had look concerned. When he had been splinting his pinky he started to tell him a story.

"This reminds of a time when I was a lad. There was this young man that had come over at my mother's place. He had broken his arm and was ashamed to show his father."

"Ducky." Tony says, causing Ducky to look up. He got the message.

"You take care of yourself Anthony." He said as Tony and Ziva walked out of the morgue. Palmer walked in then, looking over curiously at the pair.

"What was that about?" He asks.

"Ah, Doctor Palmer, good morning. We were just discussing about a childhood friend of mine." He says. Ducky begins his story and Palmer listens intently as he reminisces about the good ol' days.

**Okay, so that's it for now. Please review and tell me if I should continue. 'Till next time. :)**


	3. Popcorn and a New Case

Few! I'm finally done the second chapter! So, here it is, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter Two

Popcorn and a New Case

At Tony's apartment Ziva asks him if he wants to watch a movie. Tony smiles and nods.

"Which one?" He says pointing at the variety of movies on his shelf. Ziva looks at the many movies. She had seen many of them when she had been over for movie nights. She walks over to the shelf and then turns back around to Tony.

"You choose." She says.

"Have you seen _3 Godfathers_?" She shakes her head no.

"Ah, it's a classic, John Wayne's in it, you've gotta watch it." He says. Ziva smiles; he was getting back to his usual self.

"I do not know who this John Wayne is, but if you like it then I am sure it is a good movie." She says sitting down on the couch. Tony goes in the kitchen to make popcorn and passes the big bowl to Ziva as the movie starts. Midway through the movie Ziva's phone rings. She silently gets up off the couch and answers her phone.

"David." She says automatically.

"Hello miss David, this is Doctor Andrews." She walks to the bathroom and locks the door.

"Hello doctor. Do you have the results of my test?" She whispers.

"Yes, I would suggest you come to my office as soon as possible. How does tomorrow at eight am, sound?"

She thinks about this and then answers: "Yes, that would be fine."

"Okay, great, see you then." They both hang up.

Ziva sneaks out of the bathroom to sit next to Tony again. He absent mindedly puts his arm around her shoulders as they kept watching the movie. When the movie is over Tony doesn't get up from the couch and stares blankly at the black screen. Ziva leans over to look at his face.

"I'm adopted." He says, the implications finally setting in.

"My whole life's been a lie. Who am I?" Ziva looks over at him concerned.

"You are still Tony. A very good friend and a good co-worker. You are caring, humorous and very annoying. You are great at your job and you help people. No matter who your parents are you are still the same Tony." He looks at her; a tiny smile graces his features. Before anyone can do or say anything else, he kisses her. At first she is taken by surprise and then kisses him back with as much passion. It wasn't the first time they had kissed; actually they had done much more than that. They tripped over the couch as they made their way over to the bedroom.

Later in the afternoon Tony and Ziva were asleep in his bed when Ziva's phone rang again.

"Ziva, we've got a case." It was Gibbs. He gave her the address and she quickly got dressed.

"Where are you going?" Tony asks huskily.

"We have a case." Tony goes to get up. "No. You must stay here." Tony sighs frustrated. She kisses him quickly on the lips.

"I will see you tonight, my little hairy butt." She waves at him. He quickly throws a pillow at her; she stealthily dodges it. He hears the door close behind her and he's left alone in his apartment. He wanted to cry, yell or even punch another wall. He looks grudgingly at his broken pinky and thinks better of it. He grabs the pillow from under his head and buries his face into it.

Ziva drives dangerously down the streets to the address Gibbs had given her. Her car comes to a screeching halt on the side of the road, and she parks it. She gets out of the car to meet up with McGee and Gibbs. Ducky and Palmer were already at the scene, examining the body. Ziva walks up to Gibbs after he's done interviewing one of the neighbors.

"What have we got?" Ziva asks.

"The homicide of Petty Officer second class Reichmann. The neighbors heard gunshots and found the victim on the sidewalk. Jason Elmer, the kid over there, saw a black SUV. He didn't see a plate number." He quickly debriefs to her.

"Any suspects?" She asks.

"The husband and her step-son. They recently filed an insurance policy; she's worth half a million dollars. That's motive." He says.

McGee comes out of the house with a young man. He looked about eighteen years old.

"Yo dude, hands off. What the hell is this all about?" He stops dead in his tracks as he sees the body of his step-mom.

"Whoa dude. Is this a joke?" He asks looking around; he looked stoned. He looks back down at the body.

"Ma, come on, this isn't funny. Wake up." He says annoyed. McGee pulls the boy closer to himself.

"This isn't a joke." McGee says sternly.

"Ma, wake up!" He yells out, his voice cracking. He tries to go to the body, but Gibbs stops him.

"You'll contaminate the evidence. If you want the person who did this behind bars, you're going to have to cooperate." The boy nods as a lone tear slides down his cheek. Gibbs gently leads the boy into his car.

"Stay put." Gibbs says with a deathly glint in his eyes. The boy only nods.

"McGee, you got any information on the husband?" He asks. McGee nods.

"Yeah, one of the neighbors said that Jonas Reichmann was gone on a business trip for the week. He'll be back the day after tomorrow." Gibbs turns his attention on McGee.

"Well he'll have to cut his trip short. Call him and tell him he needs to be at NCIS by tomorrow."

"Already tried that boss." McGee says.

"Try again, McGee." He says in an annoyed tone. They finish at the crime scene and then head back to NCIS.

Gibbs interrogates Bobby Reichmann as Ziva and McGee watch on the other side of the glass.

"How's Tony?" McGee asks Ziva.

"He was in shock, but I think he will be alright. He is a tough biscuit." McGee laughs.

"It's cookie." She looks at him quizzically. "He's a tough cookie." He clarifies. She looks away from him and looks at Gibbs and Bobby.

Gibbs slams his hand down on the table, making the youth jump at the sudden noise.

"Alright, alright! I was high okay? I was getting high in my room, my friend Alice was with me, okay? I didn't do this! I wouldn't kill my own mom!" The boy yells out.

"Step-mom." Gibbs corrects him. Bobby scowls.

"I've known her since I was, like, five, I consider her my mom. She is –was- the only mom I've ever known." He explains to Gibbs, a sad look crosses the boy's features.

"Where's my dad?" He asks silently.

"He's on his way to Washington. Do you know anyone that might've done this to your mom? Someone that didn't like her… Is there any evidence to suspect your father did this?" He asks, sitting down in front of Bobby.

"No, my dad would never to that. He loved my mother very much; I think they were even thinking of having kids, you know? I-I don't know anyone who would do this? Why would someone kill my mom?" He pleads. Then his head snaps up and his eyes narrow.

"Wait, there was this guy, Joe… ugh… Joe something, anyway he was my mom's ex from college. He stalked her a couple of years back; maybe, do you think he could've done this?"

"I don't know." Gibbs answers honestly, and then quickly leaves the room. He enters the room in which McGee and Ziva are waiting in.

"Ziver, watch him until his father gets here. Tim, come with me."

"Yes, boss." They answer in unison.

**So, that's all I have for now. Next chapter will mostly be concentrating on Tony's problems and Abby will make an appearance. I would like to know what your guesses are on what's wrong with Ziva. I haven't written the next chapter yet, so I would like to know if anyone's thinking what I'm thinking of writing about. It could be an illness, a life threatening disease, whatever. Anyway, I love reviews! So please... review. **


	4. Getting Closer to the Answers

Hey, I finally finished this chapter! So I hope you enjoy.

Chapter Three

Getting Closer to the Answers

Tony lay on his bed until his phone rang, startling him awake.

"DiNozzo." He says groggily.

"DiNozzo, are you alright to come back to work? We need another set of hands." Tony lets out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God. I was dying of boredom. Yeah I'll be there in an hour"

Gibbs hung up his phone and looks at Tim interrogating mister Reichmann. All in all the man seemed to be torn apart by his wife's murder. But looks could be deceiving; Gibbs knew that all too well. Fortunately for mister Reichmann, he had an alibi for the previous night. His secretary was his alibi; Zipporah Berkowicz. Gibbs had a gut feeling that Reichmann had been having an affair with her and it didn't help that there wasn't in fact a business meeting. Gibbs was frustrated; they had no leads and very little evidence.

Abby listened to her loud music; she danced around the room as she was working. She was examining the bullet that was found in the victim. On her screen was a scenario of the shooting, showing the possible angles in which the woman could've been shot. She ran the bullet type into the computer to find a match. The woman had been killed by only one shot and it also showed that the shooter was far off when he had shot her. Abby suspected he was a trained professional, probably a hit man. Her computer dinged just as Gibbs walked into the lab.

"What ya got Abs?" He asks casually as he hands her a Caf pow. Abby smiles at him and turns to her screen. She explains to him her suspicions by showing him the angle scenarios.

"Thanks Abs." He says, kissing her on the cheek.

"Wait, that's not all." She exclaims. Gibbs turns back around to look at her.

"You see this bullet?" She says gesturing to the bullet on her table. He nods.

"This kind of bullet is government issue. Israeli government, to be exact." She says. Gibbs face turns serious and he rushes out of her lab.

"Why, thanks Abby." Abby says mocking Gibbs, wanting the appreciation. She sits on her stool, pouting and grabs her hippo. She sips her Caf pow and squeezes Bert, he farts and a smile lights her face.

Tony walks into the bullpen with his back pack. He places it next to his desk as he sits on his chair. McGee walks to his desk and sits down silently without saying a word to Tony. He starts to work on his computer, keeping an eye out for Tony because he knows Tony will ask him something or make a rude remark. Tony stays silent, McGee slowly turns his head around, to find a pair of green eyes near his face, he jumps back and lets out a: "Jesus Tony!" Tony had been standing next to McGee, waiting for him to turn around. Tony burst out laughing.

"Geez McGirly, don't wet your pants." McGee frowns.

"Happy to entertain. Glad you're back to normal." McGee mumbles. Tony goes back to his desk and turns on his computer. McGee goes back to his work. He was annoyed. Everything was silent for about ten minutes until Tony speaks up, though this time he sounds serious.

"Tim, could, you, uh, look for the, uh, never mind." He says, turning back to his computer, though this time he looks troubled and not amused. McGee sighs, he knew after the stunt Tony pulled earlier he shouldn't help him, but his better judgment won over.

"I'll try to find it Tony, but there are no guaranties. It's very possible that your records haven't been put on the computer files." Tony gives him a thankful look.

"Thanks, Tim. I… You're a good friend." McGee only smiles as he types rapidly on his keyboard.

NCIS

Ziva had asked Gibbs for part of the morning off. He didn't ask why and silently nodded at her. She left soon after to head for the doctor's office.

Ziva arrived at the doctor's office right on time; she waited for her doctor in an uncomfortable plastic chair. Ten minutes later a nurse calls out: "Ziva David."

Ziva gets up from her seat and says: "It's pronounced Dahveed." The nurse plasters on a fake smile and points to which room she had to go into. Ziva sits on the paper covered bed and waits for her doctor. Her doctor walks in and shuts the door behind him.

"Hello doctor Andrews." She says, becoming stiffer in her seat; she was anticipating for the worst.

"Please, I told you before, call me Ray." He says smiling at her. He sits down in front of her.

"Okay, Ziva, Dr. Hamelin, a colleague of mine, and I have gone over your test results. There's no easy way to tell you this, but we strongly believe you have breast cancer." Ziva stares blankly at her doctor; she hadn't expected this, not really.

"I know that this is very hard to hear and understand right now. To make sure our assumptions are correct we'll need a blood sample. If it is breast cancer, we'll perform a biopsy to see how progressed it is." Ziva can only nod.

The doctor takes out a needle. Ziva hated needles; actually she hated to admit it, but she feared them. Ever since Somalia she feared needles, she had never told anyone this. The doctor took her blood; she forced herself to calm down and not to bolt out of the room. The doctor put a label on her blood and snapped off his gloves. He jotted something down in his notebook. "Our next appointment will be three days from now. At the same time?" He says, unsure of her schedule. She nods.

"Ziva," he says concerned, "will you be alright driving to work? Do you want me to call someone to come and get you?" She shakes her head vigorously, she didn't want anyone knowing about this; she didn't want anyone to think she was weak. "No. I will be fine. I just want my results. Good-bye, doctor." She says, getting up off the bed and walking out the door confidently. Though she felt her knees waver, she kept up her façade.

McGee's computer dinged and a file popped up on his computer.

**All done! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Please review.**


	5. Day One

Hey, I just changed a couple of things at the end. Thanks to NCIS-EW-HP-Gleek for giving me Shannon's maiden name. And lastly, thanks for all the reviews.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Never will.

Chapter Four

Day One

A lot of things can happen in one second. Nothing stays the same, no matter if it's the tides in the ocean or someone's life. One second is all it takes to take your last breath or breathe your first one. If so many things can change in one second imagine the changes in three days. Three days is all it took to shake the NCIS family upside down and inside out.

* * *

McGee's computer dinged and a file popped up on his computer. He exited out of his current program and opened up the window that had just popped up. It was Tony's adoption papers. It had been scanned into the computer files, though many sections of the document had been blacked out. McGee printed the files out and wrote down the address to the adoption agency. Tony wasn't at his desk so McGee set the files into his desk drawers.

* * *

"Zee, wait!" Tony shouts for Ziva's attention.

"You've been gone all morning. What's wrong?" He asks taking both her small hands into his big ones.

"It is nothing Tony. What are you doing here? I thought Gibbs told you to stay home."

"Gibbs called me to come back. And don't change the topic. What's bothering you, Zee?" She shakes her head vigorously.

"I cannot tell you, not yet. Just lose it Tony." He looks at her questioningly and then comprehension dawns on his face. He chuckles.

"It's: drop it." Ziva sighs frustrated.

"I do not care Tony. We have to go; Gibbs wants us in the bullpen." Ziva turns around on her heel and heads for the office. Tony sighs and jogs up next to her.

When everyone gathers around Gibbs, he brings them up to speed.

"I talked to Vance about this and we believe that the Israeli government put out a hit on the petty officer. She must've gotten involved with them somehow and pissed the wrong person off. McGee, you check anything that ties her to the Israeli government. DiNozzo and David go to the house, search for anything that ties her to Israel." Tony and Ziva grab their gear and Tim types rapidly on his computer. Gibbs goes up the stairs to MTAC; he had a conference call with Director David.

Two hours later and the team were back in the bullpen. Gibbs had talked to director David; he had told him he had no knowledge of any such thing. He had said he would talk to one of his teams to investigate into the matter. Tony and Ziva had found nothing linked to Israel in the petty officer's house. McGee, on the other hand had found the jackpot. Gibbs walks into the office.

"What d'ya got?" He asks. McGee clicks his mouse and a picture of a woman pops up on the screen. Ziva and Tony walk up to it, curiosity etched on there faces.

"Boss, meet Ziporah Berkowicz; an Israeli immigrant. She's Reichmann's mistress. She graduated from Harvard law in 2001 and became a lawyer at a prestigious firm in 2002. She then quit fir no apparent reason in 2010. That's when she began to work for Reichmann. And boss, get this, her brother is a Mossad agent."

"So Zippy here gets jealous of the misses and decides to call up big bro to kill off the competition." Tony says sarchastically.

"That's what it sounds like." McGee nodded. Ziva looked as though she were trying to figure something out.

"Find that woman. I want her in the interrogation room before the end of the night."

"Yes boss." They all chorus together.

Something nagged at the back of Ziva's mind. She didn't know what it was, but she would get to the bottom of it. At that moment a woman walks into the office with an officer guiding her into the room by the elbow. They walk past her towards the interrogation rooms. Ziva assumed it was Berkowicz and followed. Ziva went to the observation room. On the other side of the glass Tony and Gibbs were waiting for the woman. McGee was standing next to her, waiting.

"Why didn't anyone come to get me?" Ziva asked him. McGee shrugged and they watched the interrogation.

Ziporah arrived in the interrogation room soon after Gibbs and Tony had entered it. She was a petite blonde with a mole on her left cheek. She had calculating green eyes.

"Why do you call me here?" She asked in the same accent Ziva had.

"For the murder of Petty Officer second class Reichmann." Gibbs says, throwing down a couple of images of the dead petty officer. Ziporah's eyes widen. She spreads the pictures across the table and looks at them.

"I know how this looks, but I did not do this." She says looking up at the two men looking at her expectantly.

"Then tell me, who did?" DiNozzo asks seriously.

"I… I do not know." She looks at both agents for pity, but there isn't any.

"This is how we see it. You wanted Reichmann's wife out of the picture so you hired your brother who works for Mossad. It says in his files that he was a sniper. She was killed by one shot. The evidence is all there pointing at you." Gibbs pauses. Zipporah squirms under the agent's scrutiny.

"I swear I did not do this. I do not love Jonas; it was only sex, nothing more." She pleads.

"I did not do this." She repeats. Both agents stay quiet.

"What can I do to prove myself?" She asks pleadingly.

"Start with the truth." Gibbs says.

"This thing that I have with Jonas it started two months ago. Things were getting stressful between him and his wife so he came to me for advice and then things happened…" She trailed off.

"Why would you quit a prestigious law firm to work for someone that doesn't even compare?" DiNozzo asked. Ziporah hesitated.

"I could not work in the environment I was working in. My boss harassed me. I told my colleagues and they blamed me for it. Soon everyone was against me and I couldn't escape. Jonas offered me a job when I had nothing else." She said lowering her head. Then her head snaps up with an idea.

"You can check to see if my brother has left Israel, yes?" Gibbs nodded.

"Then do that, you will see, my brother has not been here." Gibbs looks over at DiNozzo and he leaves the room. McGee leaves the room he was in and follows DiNozzo.

* * *

Ziva finally figured out what had been bothering her. She had worked on a mission once with an agent Berkowicz. He had the same blonde hair and green eyes as this woman. She remembered him because it was very uncommon to have Israeli's with their features. She wondered how he tied in to all of this.

* * *

McGee typed on his computer while Tony made a couple of phone calls. They both looked at each other at the same moment.

"She was right. Her brother hasn't left Israel in three years." Tony says. "Another dead end."

"Wait." McGee says, he was on to something.

"Didn't Bobby say that his step-mother had a crazy ex?"

"Yeah, but we made a background check on him. He has no links to Israel."

"Not that we know of. When I was looking through his files something wasn't right. I'll look for it again." He goes back to typing on his computer. Tony rakes his hand through his hair.

"McGee did you find that thing that I asked you?" He asks cryptically.

McGee stops typing and opens his drawer. He throws it to Tony and goes back to typing without saying a word. Tony opened the envelope eagerly. He looked at the document and his stomach dropped. Most of the document was covered in black lines. The document looked as though it had been scanned into the computer. Someone must not want him to know his real parents. Maybe they had been crooks or teenage drug addicts. He didn't know, but he wanted to know so badly. He looked at the address on the piece of paper and made a mental note to visit the establishment before he went home that night.

* * *

Ziva continued to watch Zipporah cry to Gibbs of her innocence. Her phone rang.

"Agent David." She said automatically into the phone.

"Hello Ziva, it's been awhile." Her heart skipped a beat and all color drained from her face. She knew that voice; it was a voice from her past. He spoke to her in Hebrew.

"Surprised? I was when I found out you worked for NCIS. Tell me Ziva, how does it feel to live freely in America?" He taunted her.

"Shut up. I told you never to contact me, after what you did…" She said in English, refusing to speak to him in Hebrew.

"Sweet, sweet Ziva. How I've missed you. You were such an energetic, stubborn woman. You never cease to amaze me. It's been too long, let's meet up somewhere, yes?"

"Ha! Never. I told you I never wanted to hear from you again. I do not want anything to do with you."

"Ah, Ziva I was afraid you would say that. That is why I had a backup plan. We will be in each other's lives for awhile. What did you think of the petty officer's body? I killed her for you Ziva, so that we could be together again." There was a pause. Ziva's eyes widened, she knew he was crazy, but not killer crazy. She tapped on the glass separating her from the interrogation room. Gibbs looked up and left the room. He said something to Zipporah and made his way to where Ziva stood. He gave her a questioning look. She put her finger to her lips and continued to listen.

"If you do not want another dead body you will meet me tomorrow at noon. Alone. If I see anybody with you, you and they are dead. Do you understand?" He asked threateningly.

"Yes." Gibbs continued to look at her questioningly.

"Michael." She pauses. "Why? After all these years you haven't contacted me. Why now?"

"Didn't you know Ziva, love?" Ziva cringed. "I was in prison. Apparently your father did not understand what we had."

"We did not have anything Michael. You are sick, you need help. Stop this now, surrender yourself and your punishment will be lessened." He laughed on the other line.

"Ziva I want you. I want you the way I had you before. Only you forever. If you agree to that then I surrender." He knew she never would, this was a game to him.

"You know the answer to that. You will never have me. I was weak then, a child. I am not weak anymore." She says confidently, though she felt as scared as she was when she a child.

"Tomorrow at noon, in the park. If you are not there, there will be another person's death on your hands. Goodbye, Ziva." He hangs up and Ziva sighs defeated. She hadn't felt so helpless since he had hunted her and hurt her when she was a child.

"What is it Ziver?" Gibbs asked concerned and a little agitated by her lack of explanation.

"I know who killed the petty officer. His name is Michael Talmud. He worked for my father when I was thirteen. The first time he met me I could tell he liked me. I told my father, but he did not believe me. Michael was one of his best men. When I was alone… I was weak as a child, I am not weak anymore. He stalked me and did things to me. He believed I was his. I was not. My father never found out, I suppose until years later. He knew the petty officers case would go to our team. He planned it all so that he could have me again. He wants to meet…" Ziva was starting to feel faint. Gibbs looked angry and concerned, but he didn't say a word. "He wants to meet me at noon tomorrow…" She paused again, this time gripping the desk for support. "At the park."

"Ziva?" Gibbs goes to ask her more about this man. He needed to go tell Vance about this.

Then Ziva started to sway and her eyes rolled behind her head, she then collapsed. He grabbed her before she could hit her head against the desk. Gibbs quickly took out his cell phone and dialed for an ambulance. Then he texted Tony. He was in the room within seconds. They both rushed her out into the bullpen. Tony had a concerned looked on his face. Gibbs barked at McGee to get Ziva a wet towel and tried to wake her up. As they helped Ziva to regain consciousness Gibbs told his team about Michael, though he excluded the parts about him hurting Ziva. He wanted to bolt out of the bullpen and search for the bastard, but he knew he needed a plan. He told McGee to do a search on the phone the man had used. McGee looked at the number in Ziva's phone and tried to do a trace. But, unfortunately it looked as though the phone was off. They would have to wait until he put it back on. Within a few minutes the whole of NCIS was gathered around there toughest agent.

* * *

Ziva finally awoke to people staring at her with concern on there faces.

"Ziva!" Tony sighed in relief.

"Zi, what happened?" Tony asked.

"I… I just got too overwhelmed." She said. He looked at her, searching her face.

"There's more you're not telling me. Gibbs told us what happened, Ziva. You've heard worst news. I know you, you can handle this kind of thing, and you'd kill that guy with your kick ass ninja moves. What's really wrong?" He asked.

"Tony, you do not know me. There is nothing else." She lied. "I want to be alone." She said, pushing him away. He had a dejected look on his face but relented. The paramedics entered the building. Ziva sighed.

"I am fine, Gibbs. I just need rest." Gibbs shakes his head.

"Go with them. Just to be safe. Abby go with Ziva." Abby nods eagerly and follows the paramedics, her chunky heels, making a thumping noise. Ziva, of course, was heard protesting until the elevator doors closed.

Tony wanted to go with Ziva at the hospital, but he knew she needed her space. He grabbed his envelope and headed toward the address written on it. When he arrived he first thought the place was closed because all the lights were off, but when he got closer to the building he realized that there were black curtains covering the windows. Tony hesitantly walked into the office. A bell dinged when he entered the building. The people that were working (mostly middle aged women) looked over at him and then resumed their work. Tony walked up to the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Anthony DiNozzo." He looks at the petite young blonde behind the desk. "I'm looking for some information… on my birth parents." She nods.

"Okay, I'll just look your name up in the database." She pauses. It looked as though she was used to this.

"Yep, here it is." She says, turning the screen towards him. "Though most of the information has been blocked out. That's very unusual. It says here Sally was in charge of your case. She has a very good memory, she might remember who your parents were." Tony nods.

"Sally!" The blonde yells out. A chunky elderly woman walks up to them.

"Yeah, George." She says to the woman. The name George was odd for a woman to have.

"Do you remember this case?" She says, pointing to the screen. Sally reads through it.

"Ah, yes I do. It was an odd one. Sad though... she didn't want to give up her child, but she had no other choice." She looks up and notices Tony for the first time. She stares into his eyes.

"You're the DiNozzo kid aren't you?" She says with a smile. He nods.

"I wondered when you would come here. You have your mother's eyes." She says. Tony takes a deep intake of breath.

"I, uh, just found out that I was adopted." The woman shakes her head and smiles.

"Do you remember her name?" He asks hopeful.

"Yes, I could never forget it. Your case was an odd one. Fourteen years after you were adopted an agent came to the office and marked most of your information in black." She shakes her head at the memory.

"I never knew why. Her name was Shannon, uh something." She racks her brain for the information. "Shannon Fielding. She was young, but very nice. Smarter beyond her years." She describes; Tony smiles. The name sounded familiar. He would do some research on her afterward.

"Do you know where she lives? If she's still alive? Do you know my father?" He bombards her with a million questions.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down young man." She smiles at him.

"No, I didn't know your father. She was alone when I gave you to the DiNozzo's. I don't know if she's still alive. Her address was deleted from all our files. I'm sorry that I can't give you the answers you need." He smiles weakly at her.

"That's okay. Thank you." He goes to leave.

"Wait mister DiNozzo. Just know that your mother had no other choices. She wanted the best for you. She was heartbroken when she gave you up." Sally adds. He nods and thanks her again.

**I hope I can update soon. Please review.**


	6. Day Two

Hey! Here's part two of chapter four. Sorry it's been so long, I've been so busy. Anyway I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter four

Three days

Day Two

"I am fine Abby, I do not need to stay here. It is bad enough I had to stay here overnight." Ziva said to Abby on the phone. It was six o'clock in the morning and Ziva was anxious to get out of the hospital and complete the case.

"Okay, Ziva. I'll come pick you up." Abby said sighing.

"Thank you." She hangs up her cell phone and a doctor walks in the room. The doctor smiles at her.

"Hello miss David. I've contacted your regular doctor about your fainting spell and he'll be here in ten minutes."

"Doctor, I am fine." She reassures her.

"Is this the first time this has happened? Is there any other symptoms I should know about?" The doctor asks.

"This is the first time this has happened. I had the flu a week ago, I was tired and I throwed out once." The doctor jots some notes down and then hesitates.

"What did you throw out?" She asks. Ziva furrows her brows.

"My vomit, of course." She says matter-of-factly. The doctor laughs.

"Thank you. Your doctor will be here shortly." She says as she leaves the room. As the doctor had said, her doctor was there in ten minutes.

"Hello Ziva." He says, as he takes a seat next to her.

"Because of this… incident we've sped up your results from your tests. Your condition is worst then we had thought." Ziva gives him a worried look.

"We have discovered some complications." Ziva is impatient.

"Stop whacking around the bush and tell me." She exclaims.

"Ziva, you have cancer, it isn't that advanced and we would've been able to remove quite easily. But… Ziva, from our tests we've concluded that you are around eight weeks pregnant and this complicates things." He says. Ziva's eyes bulge out of her head and she's on the brink of hyperventilating.

"How does this complicate things?"

"The cancer could put the foetus in danger. We're going to have to operate to get rid of the cancer and keep a close watch on you afterwards. You won't be able to breastfeed; it's too risky. I'll make the appointment for your operation as soon as possible." He says. Ziva was on the verge of tears.

"I need you to leave please… Ray." She says slowly. The doctor nods and leaves the room at the same moment Abby enters. Ziva puts on a fake smile.

"Hey Abs. Let's go. I cannot stand hospitals."

"Okay." She says cheerily.

* * *

Tony stretched his arms out and cracked his fingers. He did a google search on Shannon Fielding. The name sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. Before he could look at the results Gibbs came striding into the room.

"DiNozzo, get your gear." Tony does as he says and they walk into the elevator.

"What is it boss?" He asks.

"Ziva got a call last night. We're meeting her in the garage and then we're going to the park. You'll be undercover as a maintenance man, while you watch Ziva's back."

"Okay, boss. But what is this about?" He asks. The elevator doors ding.

"The petty officer's killer." He says as he walks away from Tony. Tony spots Ziva putting on a bullet proof vest.

"Zi, what's going on? Why are you the bait?" He asks as he puts his gear into the van.

"He killed that woman because of me. He wants to meet me or others will die." She explains. Tony had no clue was she was talking about, but shoved down his questions for the moment.

"Are you sure you're ready for this? You were just in the hospital." Ziva shakes her head.

"I have no other choice."

"Let's go." Gibbs yells out. Ziva and Tony hop into the van. The elevator doors open and McGee awkwardly runs into the van. He looks at Gibbs and Tony and then back again.

"What is it McWhiplash?" Tony asks in frustration.

"Uh, nothing." He stutters out awkwardly; avoiding Tony and Gibbs stare.

10 minutes earlier

"DiNozzo get your gear." McGee hears Gibbs yell out from the bathroom. McGee hurries out and grabs his own gear. He notices Tony hadn't shut his computer screen.

"Ugh, Tony." He says in frustration. He puts his thumb on the off button and freezes.

On a piece of paper next to the screen there is a name: Shannon Fielding. That was Gibbs wife's name before she married. Tony had done a search on her, but why? He looked at the information on the page. It described her life and her death. It didn't have much information, but McGee assumed that if Tony had done a search on her that he must've found his birth mother; Gibbs' late wife. Maybe it was just a coincidence, maybe there was a different Shannon Fielding. No, he thought. He saw it now in the eyes, Tony had the same eyes as Shannon, his mother. McGee exited out from the screen and then shut the computer and ran to the elevators. So, McGee thought, Shannon had a child before she married Gibbs. He assumed that Gibbs didn't know since he never mentioned him. Which either meant she had a child with someone else or she had his child without telling him. McGee calculated Tony's date of birth and the year Gibbs had told them he met Shannon. It was close, she must have just met him. McGee ran out of the elevator doors before Gibbs could drive away. When he entered the van he looked at Tony and then at Gibbs, searching for any resemblance between the two. He found it, how they had never seen it before was sheer stupidity. Before he could continue Tony interrupted his thoughts.

"What is it McWhiplash?" Tony asked annoyed.

"Uh, nothing." McGee said. He didn't want to give anything away, not at the moment, anyway.

* * *

Ziva's phone rang, making her jump.

"Hello, my sweet Ziva." The voice made Ziva shiver.

"Hello Michael." She said coldly.

"I am here." She says. She looks around at her surroundings. She was sitting on a park bench. Children ran around the park and parent's yelled after them. Dogs barked and geese trumpeted their songs. Tony pretended to pick up garbage with his garbage picker stick. He eyed her and the area discreetly and with caution, he moved along to the next garbage can. She knew Gibbs was somewhere surveying the area. But, she couldn't spot Michael anywhere.

"To your left." He says. She sees a man wave at her. He looked as though he had had plastic surgery. His crooked nose had been straightened and his black hair was died blonde. His face looked as though it was stuck in a permanent scowl and he looked as though he had had Botox. He looked hideous.

"An improvement, I suppose." She said, in mock exasperation. Michael laughed humourlessly.

"Ah Ziva, you look as beautiful as ever." He said hanging up his phone and sitting next to Ziva. Her skin crawled with his proximity but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of shying away.

"Let's get down to business." She said folding her arms across her chest and not looking him in the face.

"I came. So, you don't kill anyone else. That was the deal." He nodded.

"Of course Ziva, love. Though I'm in charge of the rules. You come with me and I swear that I will never harm anyone else again." He said.

"Never." She growled out. "I would never go anywhere with you. You are not in control anymore, I am." He smiled again and Ziva inwardly shivered.

"You are sadly mistaken." He said. He took out a gun and pointed it at her waist, hiding it behind her coat.

"You will do whatever I tell you. Get up slowly and I will follow you. Unfortunately you have made things complicated for me. You broke our deal. If you try to run I will detonate the bomb I planted on your friend." He said pointing to Tony. Ziva's eyes went wide. She couldn't say anything.

"Walk." He growled out. She did as he said.

5 minutes earlier

"Sorry sir." Tony said as an older man banged into him. The man growled something incoherent and kept walking. Tony shook his head and pretended to keep cleaning. He looked up again and a man sat next to Ziva.

"Gibbs, he's here." He said into the microphone in his jacket. Tony watched as they talked. Then Ziva got up and said something to the man. She looked worried and then started walking.

"Gibbs, they're on the move. I'm following."

"I'll meet you there in a minute." Gibbs said from his position higher up in the park. Tony quickened his pace, though not fast enough to make the man suspect he was being followed. Tony got closer and that was when he noticed the gun.

"He's got a gun." He almost yelled out.

"McGee!" He yelled out.

"Yeah, I'm coming." McGee said, running out of the van. Gibbs was next to Tony and they both took out there guns; positioning themselves so that they would corner Michael. That's when everything went downhill.

"You come any closer and I will not hesitate to shoot her. Put your guns on the ground and let us leave the park." He said calmly. Ziva had a panicked look in her eyes. The two agents didn't put their guns down. They saw McGee from the corner of their eyes and waited for the right moment.

"How 'bout you put your weapon down and we'll let you live." Tony said. Michael laughed.

"You do not understand, dear boy. It is not just her life in jeopardy, it is yours." He took out a device.

"You have a bomb on you. Come any closer and I will not hesitate to blow you to smithereens." Everyone was momentarily surprised.

McGee was behind Michael, he nodded his head; they were ready. McGee hit Michael's gun out of his hands and dodged for the detonator. He grabbed it before it hit the ground. Ziva kicked him in the jaw, Tony and Gibbs approached him with their guns pointed to his head. McGee cuffed him and Ziva hit Michael across the head; efficiently knocking him out. After taking the bomb from Tony's garbage bag, evryone was deemed safe and Michael was where he belonged.

* * *

Michael opened his eyes slowly, his head was pounding.

"What- where am I?" He asked, but no one was in the room. He got up off the bed and walked to the bars lining the door.

"Let me out!" He said from inside his cell.

"I do not belong here! I want my Ziva!" He yelled until his voice was raw, but no one listened to an insane man.

* * *

Ziva sat at her desk staring into space.

"Zi... You wanna talk?" Tony asked out of concern.

"I... I never get scared, Tony, never. But..." She shook her head.

"He scared me. I hate it that he has control of me like that." She said, brushing away a stray tear. She gave him a weak smile.

"Did you find anything on your birth parents?" He shook his head.

"Nah. But now that you bring it up I was doing a google search on her. I found my mother's name." He clarified.

"That's good."

"You know, it can wait another day. Why don't we go out? Have a couple drinks." Ziva was about to agree and then remembered that she was pregnant.

"Why don't we watch a movie at your place?" She asks. He smiles at her and nods. He was about to get up when Gibbs walked into the room.

"You have paper work to fill out first DiNozzo." He sat at his desk and took out a box of papers. He put on his computer screen. He stared at it for awhile but it didn't come on. He whacked it on its side. The noise from it made Ziva and Tony jump.

"Boss!" McGee said jogging into the room.

"McGee fix this damn thing." Gibbs yelled out in frustration. McGee bent down and pressed the on button.

"You only pressed the screen's on button, you need to press both." He said pointing at the one on the computer. Gibbs grumbled something and Tony had to hold in his laughter. They all worked in silence for the rest of the day. McGee did some research into Shannon's past and found out that she had in fact been in a hospital the week that Tony was born. He tried to get the birth certificate, but he couldn't find anything on the matter. One thing was for sure Tony DiNozzo was Shannon Gibbs son.

That night

Ziva and Tony were watching Wild Wild West. Ziva stared at the big spider like machine in the movie and Tony had to laugh at her expression. When the movie was over Ziva turned to him. They stared at each other in the eyes for awhile.

"Tony, there is something I need to tell you." She said, tears welling up in her eyes. Tony wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Shhh. What is it Zi?" She stared at him in the eyes.

"I wasn't going to tell you, but there are... complications that involve you." Tony stared at her confused.

"Zi, whatever it is you can tell me." He says reassuringly.

"I... I have cancer, Tony. Breast cancer." She saw his shocked expression, he was speechless.

"They said it's not too advanced so they can just remove it by doing an operation. But..." She stopped. Tony snapped out of his haze.

"There's more, isn't there?" Ziva nodded.

"It has added some complications, more risks."

"What?" Tony says impatiently, though gently.

"I'm pregnant and the cancer could put the baby in danger." She said. Tony stared at her with shock.

"But how?" He choked out. Ziva shrugged.

"I don't know. The operation is in two days. I want you to be there, if that is okay." Tony nodded.

"Of course I'll be there." He reassured her. He kissed her forehead and cuddled next to her on the couch. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

McGee lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. Changes were coming to the NCIS family and he knew they would be tested on their endurance. How had life become so complicated? How did Tony end up working for his long lost father? Did Gibbs know? McGee's mind was like a computer and right now it was being over loaded.

* * *

Gibbs drank his bourbon and worked on his boat. He was haunted by the memories of his late daughter and wife. He missed them so much. Everyone he loved had either died or left him. But he still had a family; his NCIS team. They were dysfunctional, but nonetheless a family. He loved them all. But when he got home at the end of the day he was surrounded by an empty house and haunting memories. He sanded his boat as he tried to push the memories away.

* * *

"Hi honey." Vance said, kissing his wife good-night. She mumbled something in her sleep. He stared at his beautiful wife and sighed. His phone rang and he sprang to get it before it woke the household.

"Hello Vance. You are number three." The phone went dead and Vance's heart beat sped up. He knew this day would come.

* * *

Abby was at the bowling alley with the nuns. She threw her hands up in the air and jumped up and down with excitement when she got a strike. The nuns on her team cheered for her. The beautiful Goth sat next to her friend's as they continued to bowl. The night went on as usual, until the black night sky surrounding the bowling alley was lighted with a burst of yellow and orange. The blast from the explosion shook the earth. Smoke bellowed from the bowling alley.

**Cliffhanger! I hope you guys liked it. Please review!**


	7. Day Three

Hey! So, I've finally finished this chapter. Thank God. It was a long one. Sorry for the wait.

Disclaimer: Awe, this again. I don't own anything. There, done, I said it.

Chapter four

Three days

Day Three

_An alarm. Sirens. Smoke. Why is their smoke? My head. Cough. Blood. Why am I bleeding? I can't see. Get this fog away from me. Noises, people. Other people are coughing. I'm on the ground on my back. Where am I? The bowling alley. The nuns! Where are the nuns? Need to get out. What happened?_

Abby gets up on her feet and looks around herself confused. She stumbles on her thick heels and heads to a nun coughing on the ground.

"Sister Mary, we need to get the others out!" She yells out. The younger nun and Abby help the others up on there feet. It had only been there teams because it was a school night and it was too late for families to be out. They headed for the emergency exit. A beam fell down blocking their path.

"This way!" Abby yelled out, pointing at the back exit. They ran out of the exit and continued until they were a safe distance away. An ambulance and a fire truck arrived on the scene at the same moment they stopped running. The fire fighters hosed down the building and the paramedics ran to the coughing nuns and Abby.

* * *

"What!" Tony groaned into his cell phone.

"What?" He said again, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"I'll be there right away." He says, as he hangs up his phone.

"Ziva, wake up." Tony said, nudging Ziva awake. She looked up at him drowsily and almost fell off the couch. Tony caught her arm.

"Something's happened to Abby at the bowling alley. Everyone's meeting her there." Ziva was now fully awake and ready to go.

* * *

"Leon, why are just sitting there Come to bed, honey, It's..." She looked at the clock. "One in the morning." Vance didn't move.

"Baby, are you asleep?" She gets up and moves from the bed and walks over to her husband. He's staring out the window. She puts her hand on Vance's shoulder. He slowly turns his head to look at her.

"Honey, I tried to keep you safe... We need to leave before he gets here."

"Who? What are you talking about? You're not making any sense Leon." She said worriedly.

"Jackie, I'll explain it to you on the way to NCIS. We need to go now, go to a safe house."

"No, you will explain it to me now. I need to know what we're running from. It's the middle of the night. Lily and Jarod are sleeping." She said gently.

"In '82, I did something with the government that I regret."

"'82?" He nods once.

"I thought they were all dead, but last year one of them started to kill off the people that worked with me. I knew it was only a matter of time before he came after me. I knew we should've been better protected, but I think, a part of me felt that I deserved to be punished for what I did."

"Leon Vance! I swear to God, if you don't tell me straight up what's wrong, I will..." She couldn't think of a good threat. "I will castrate you." She said finally. Vance gives her a humourless smile and turns to watch outside. She slaps him on the head Gibbs style.

"Look at me when I speak to you. Answer my questions and stop being so God damned cryptic." He looked at her and saw fear in her eyes.

"I am number three." He says looking at her.

"What the hell does that mean?" She asks frustrated.

"It means that other than me there are two more from our group that is left."

"Who's doing this?"

"We had doctors on our staff. They did experiments on them, cruel experiments. Only one person survived through them. He was insane to begin with; he got more insane after the experiments. He's coming after us. Picking us off one by one."

"This is insane. This sounds like some freaky horror movie. Why would you even agree to such inhumane things?" She said.

"When we agreed to do this assignment we had no clue what we were signing up for. We only knew we'd get a fat pay check. Honey, if I knew what they were doing I never would've joined, I might've even tried to stop it." Jackie shook her head in frustration, she was still very confused.

"Why would the government do experiments on innocent people?" She asked.

"They wanted test subjects to build super soldiers for when we went into war. An insurance that our 'heroes' wouldn't die. The experiments weren't done on innocent people. Though, I can say that all I want, it doesn't help me sleep at night." He mumbled the last part to himself.

"The experiments were done on criminals in death row. They were sentenced to death, so the government thought that instead of wasting good life they'd use those that would die anyway. It was torture… even for a criminal, it was inhumane." Jackie was quiet for a long time.

"What was your role in all this?" She asked in a soft whisper.

"I kept an eye on the inmates, making sure they didn't escape. That's all. Once I figured out what they were doing I wanted out, but they threatened to hurt the people I loved, they threatened to hurt you…" He was losing his composure.

"What happened?" She asked.

"The experiments failed. All the subjects died but one. He escaped from the compound… he was the only one that showed signs of success. He was the craziest psychopath of the bunch. He didn't show any emotion and he loved the pain. He laughed when the others would scream." He shook his head.

"He starts by hurting the people around his target, and then he starts to kill those closer to him. He tortures or tricks his target and then kills him. He's smart, strong. He's the greatest enemy. He can't be caught. The experiment on him was successful; he is a super soldier." Silence pierced throughout the household. Jackie had chills down her spine and her face went white, her heart hammered in her chest.

"Why… why didn't you tell me before?" Tears spilled down her cheeks. She took out her suitcase and started piling clothes into it quickly, almost desperately.

"The guys in charge of the assignment made us do an oath never to tell anyone. I told you this now because there is a very good chance you need to know this in case of my death." He sat silently in the chair by the window surveying the outdoors. Jackie stared at Leon in disbelief. The phone rang and they both jumped. They stared at the phone as it rang. Leon slowly got up from his seat and picked up the phone. He brought it to his ear, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Hello?"

* * *

"Timmy!" Abby exclaimed as she ran to the NCIS agent.

"Abs, what happened? Are you okay?" Abby nodded and hugged him tightly.

"Everybody got out. I don't know what happened, it almost sounded like a bomb. There was a blast, a flash of light and then nothing. My ears rang Tim, something exploded. I… I just hope no one's after me again." She said slowly, she almost sounded scared.

"It'll be alright Abby, we'll figure it out." Abby nodded.

"After everything that has happened to Ziva today, or I guess yesterday considering that it is early in the morning, so that would mean…"

"Abby." McGee cuts her off.

"Oh right. What I was saying was that after everything that has happened to Ziva, I can't believe someone would be after me." McGee hugged her once more before seeing three other agents approach them; Tony, Ziva and Gibbs.

"Abby." Ziva exclaimed, jogging to Abby.

"You are okay, yes?" She asked. Abby nodded and gave Ziva a bone crushing hug. Abby saw Tony from the corner of her eye and moved to hug him. Tony patted her back for reassurance. The nuns were staring silently at the group, waiting anxiously for help and to get out of the cold night. Gibbs watched his group until Abby moved on to him. Gibbs kissed her on the cheek and wrapped his arms around her.

"Everything will be alright, right Gibbs?" She asked, sounding like a small child. Gibbs nodded, his chin bobbing up and down in her black hair. Her pony tails were half way out of their hold and her cheeks were covered in black dust; she smelled of smoke. Gibbs knew the explosion wasn't an accident; he had a gut feeling about it. He knew this was serious. He took out his phone and called the director.

* * *

"Gibbs." Leon said. Jackie sighed in relief.

"I'll be there immediately." He said, ending the conversation. He told his wife what had happened.

"It's happening, isn't it?" She asked worried. He nodded.

"I'll get the kids." She said, jogging to her children's room.

"I'll call a couple of people to get a safe house for you and the kids in the mean time." She nodded and left the room.

* * *

Dawn came, people were aloud to leave and go home. All that was left of the bowling alley was charred wood and smoke. The firefighters were leaving and the police were finishing up on the questioning. The paramedics were looking for injuries on Abby. She had smoke inhalation and a scrape on the head, but nothing more. Water and clean air would help heal her. When she was done she gave the anxious group a smile. She walked over to the nuns. They nodded, hugged and thanked God no one was seriously injured. Gibbs left with Abby and McGee followed them to NCIS headquarters. Tony and Ziva stayed behind to further investigate the area.

* * *

"Gibbs." Leon said as he rushed to Gibbs side.

"Leon." Gibbs said without looking up from his work.

"Is Abby okay?" He asked concerned, though already knowing the answer.

"She's fine, a little shaken up. She's down in the basement analyzing the bomb found at the scene." He paused and noticed the look on Vance's face.

"What is it?" He asked putting away his work and standing in front of his boss.

"I think I know who caused this and why." Gibbs was silent for awhile, studying the director's face. He nods and Vance tells him his theory.

"Do you have a name?" Gibbs asked calmly. Vance shook his head.

"I don't even know what his face looked like. They always covered there faces when they moved them. Though I remember his physiology; he was a big guy, not easy to forget. He was 6'4'', Caucasian, death row inmate and had a snake tattoo on his right forearm." Gibbs nods, takes out his phone and dials a number.

"Get up here." He says and hangs up.

_A man of few words_, Vance thought. Soon McGee came out of the elevators.

"Yeah boss." He said. Gibbs signalled for Vance to tell the description of the man. McGee put it in the database; all they had to do now was wait for the results. While they waited Vance explained to Gibbs the project in further detail and told him that his family was in a safe house.

* * *

Abby worked in her lab frantically. She still wore the clothes from the previous day and had a white lab coat on top of it. She didn't care how she looked today, she wanted answers. She wanted to know if the person that set up the bomb would go after her again. She hoped not. She really hated having to worry about these things. Though she didn't mind the sleepovers. Maybe, she hoped, she would be staying at Ziva's tonight; they could have a girl's night. She heard the elevators ding and waited for Gibbs to come up beside her.

"Found anything Abs?" He asks. Abby smiles and then turns to look at him.

"Yep." She reaches over for the Caf Pow and takes a huge gulp from it. She walks over to her computer, dishelved pig tails bobbing.

"This bomb was homemade and whoever made it knew what they were doing. It's small so not easily noticeable, but makes a big boom." She says widening her arms. She turns back around to the computer.

"I figured out most of the chemicals he used and made a search for places that sold them. In the Washington area I found 50 stores, within those only 5 sold all the materials used for the bomb. My bet, is that it's one of those."

"Thanks Abs." Gibbs says, leaving her lab in a rush.

* * *

Tony took pictures of the crime scene while Ziva looked around the wreckage. They were almost done their search. All they had found so far was a cigarette butt near where the bomb was found and debris of the bomb that had landed all around the scene. Ziva's phone went off. Tony looked up quickly and then returned to taking pictures of the scene.

"Yes?" Ziva said into the phone.

_"Hello Ziva. We've been able to schedule you in for an operation in a week. Thursday at nine in the morning. We'd like you to come in for a final consult before the operation. Say tomorrow, seven at night? Is that alright with you?"_ Ziva told him she'd call back after she checked her schedule. Tony looked up at her again.

"Everything alright?" He asked. She nodded and plastered on a smile.

"I am fine." Tony walked over to her, stepping over debris.

"Zi, I know when there's something wrong. You say: 'I'm fine', but you never are. Tell me what's wrong." With reluctance Ziva told him about the appointment. Tony took in a deep breath, fear crossing over his features. He changed his expression before Ziva could see that he was scared.

"It'll be alright Zi. I can come with you tomorrow." She hesitated.

"If we are still in the office you cannot. Gibbs will know that something is out."

"Up. Yeah, I agree. But, he will have to know at some point." He said.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, the team had searched the first four stores and ha come up with one suspect that matched Vance's description. Alec Tchevenko. They were on their way to the final store. They entered the tiny store that was on a street corner in the middle of a bad neighbourhood. Graffiti covered most walls and the windows all had bars covering them. The stores windows were painted black and the door had peeling blue paint. The sign announcing the stores name was missing a letter and falling apart. Tony entered first and was welcomed with an acrid stench; pot and urine.

"Man." Tony said scrunching up his nose. McGee had the same reaction when he followed after him. Ziva looked a little green and Gibbs looked like nothing was wrong. A middle aged man stood behind the counter reading a magazine.

"NCIS." Gibbs said showing his credentials.

"Oh. Uh." The man looked around nervously.

"I can explain." He said quickly. "It wasn't my idea. This isn't even my store. Joe owns it, you know. I.." He threw his magazine and started to run. Tony sighed. He hated runners. Ziva went out front with McGee and Tony and Gibbs followed him out the back. In a matter of minutes he was cornered in an alley.

"Please, I don't want to go back to jail." Gibbs cuffed the man.

"You're under arrest for the attempted murder of a federal officer..." Gibbs started.

"Woah, woah, woah. Attempted murder? I thought you were talking"- he whispered the next part- "about the pot." Gibbs stared at the man with his icy gaze.

"I swear. I didn't do no'ing involving no officer." He drawled.

"Did you sell these items to a guy that looked like this?" Gibbs asked still holding the man's hand cuffs and showing a list of items and a picture.

"Uh, I can check in the computer." Gibbs pushed him forward and they followed them back into the stench filled building. Ziva decided to stay outside and told Gibbs she'd stand watch. He agreed with her idea and went into the building. The man checked his computer.

"Uh... here it is... Tom Lee Smith. Big fella, I even remember him from the last time. Intimidating..." He trailed off and smirked to himself. No one noticed this.

"Don't leave town." Gibbs grumbled as he uncuffed him.

"What's your name?" McGee asked as he realized no one else had bothered to ask.

"Durk"- he straightened his shirt- "Durk Quincy." McGee nodded.

"Where's the owner?" Tony asked.

"Dunno. Haven't seen 'em in a few. Not unusual, he's an odd character. Name's Joe Hardly. Fake name, I think... He should be back soon. Isn't gone for more than a week." After a few more questions they left _**Bill's Hardware Store. **_Though it barely contained any hardware and Bill didn't own the store anymore.

So they had two leads: Alec Tchevenko and Tom Lee Smith. They had been able to set up an interrogation with Smith, unfortunately Tchevenko was out of town visiting family in Russia. He'd be back in the country in two days. When Smith walked through the elevator doors, escorted by two guards, everyone looked at him with surprise. He was a big man, but he had a horrible limp.

"Uh, boss." McGee said. Gibbs glared at him and McGee refrained from speaking. Tony gets up from his seat and walks up to Ziva who is standing in the middle of the cubicles. He crossed his arms and whispered to Ziva.

"This reminds me of The Usual Suspects, you know Kaiser Soze. Nobody suspects that the guy with the gimp leg is the killer until the end. I'd place my bets on Gimpy." Tony feels a sharp pain in the back of his head.

"Interrogation. Now." Gibbs said, making his way to the interrogation room. Ziva smiles at Tony and laughs. McGee follows quickly behind Gibbs, glancing quickly at Tony and then disappearing.

After the interrogation they found out that Smith had an alibi for when the bomb went off. He had been in Atlanta with his family. He even had the crumpled up plane ticket in his jacket pocket. They let him leave.

"You loose." Ziva chimed in playfully. Tony mock glared at her.

"I'm telling ya, he's the most unsuspecting person; it's him." Ziva laughed.

"Face it, you were wrong Tony." Ziva said, smiling behind him.

* * *

"McGee put out a bolo on the suspect." Gibbs demanded.

"Already did Boss." McGee shouted back from his desk. Tony and Ziva walked into the bull pen.

"Your phone's been ringing off the hook." McGee told Tony. Ziva walked to her desk and sat in her seat. She looked up curiously at Tony when the phone started ringing. McGee looked agitated and Gibbs stared at Tony when he didn't pick up immediately. Tony smiled mischievously.

"DiNozzo." He said. His smile faltered and then turned into a frown.

"Who is this?" He said, gesturing at McGee to start tracking the number.

"Where are you? If you bring yourself in the punishment won't be as severe." His eyebrows knitted on the top of his forehead. He looked worried. He slowly put the phone back on its cradle.

"Did you get it?" He asked, still staring down at the phone.

"No. Whoever this is, knows what he's doing. The transmission was being bounced all over the place." Tony nodded still not looking up.

"I don't get it." He murmured.

* * *

The man with the black gloves had a cellular phone in his hand. On the phone there was a device to change the tone of his voice and he put on a little machine next to it and typed on his computer. Nobody could trace him with all this technology surrounding him.

_"DiNozzo."_ The cheerful voice said from the other line. The man smiled, his scarred lips made it look like a grimace.

"'Twas he who put his family aside. 'Twas he, the one which died inside. 'Twas he who did not care. 'Twas he who put you there."

_"Who is this?"_ DiNozzo said with a little hint of annoyance in his voice. The man with the black gloves smiled. "You should know. Solve the riddle and I will let you and your father live. You've got three hours." He said. His favourite torture device; riddles. It took someone who thought out of the box to solve them. He saved the riddles for his five last victims. The two first ones weren't as fun; they hadn't solved his riddles and inevitably they died. This time he wanted to speed things up and skip to the kill. This is what he liked. Fear made his heart race, made him excited for the hunt. Three hours; that was the shortest time he gave anyone to solve a riddle, though this one should be fairly easy.

"_Where are you? If you bring yourself in the punishment won't be as severe_." He laughed, he did not care for his punishment, they could not do it anyway, and he was invincible. He wanted them, the ones who did this to him, to be punished. The man with the black gloves hung up the phone.

* * *

"I don't get it." Tony said again. The team looked at him quizzically.

"What's going on boss? First Abby and now someone's targeting me." Gibbs had no other choice but to tell them. Once he told the team about Vance's past, Tony told them the riddle. He didn't remember the exact words but it conveyed the same message.

"I've got" –he looked at his watch-"two hours and thirty seven minutes left before he kills my father."

"I'll send guards and I'll go there myself." Ziva said.

"No. You can send the guards, but **you** stay here." Ziva did a double take.

"You cannot tell me what to do."

"David." Gibbs cut in. "Stay here with DiNozzo and McGee, we'll get more progress with you here. I'm not good at riddles anyway. I'll go." He said. Tony was surprised that Gibbs backed him up on this.

"Thanks boss." Tony said sincerely. Gibbs left. The team studied the words written on the screen. A light bulb in McGee's head flashed.

"I know what this is about." He finally said. "He isn't after your father, father. He's after your real father. I think he knows who your real father is, and so do I." He said worriedly. afraid of Tony's reaction. Tony urged him to go on. Ziva starred at them intently.

"It was him that put you there. By that he means here, on this Earth. Your Mother was Shannon Fielding."

"I already know that." Tony cut in.

"Isn't that..." Ziva trailed off and stared up at Tony.

"Yes." McGee nodded.

"Either that or she had Tony before they met." Tony starred between the two.

"Who?"

"Think Tony. Think about the words, the name." Tony didn't understand. Why couldn't he just tell him? He thought about it. Then it all suddenly clicked.

"No. It can't be." He shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense. I mean how could we both end up here and work at the same place?" He was confused and angry.

"Destiny." Ziva whispered. Ziva had never believed in such folly, not until now.

"You're saying that Gibbs is..." He couldn't say the word.

"Oh God." He realized. "We have to go to the hospital. If the man's after Gibbs..." He trailed off and the group broke out into a run.

When they arrived at the hospital everything around them was chaotic. Ceiling lights hung broken, people ran around not really knowing what to do. A group of doctors huddled around a still form. Everything was in slow motion for Tony. He ran over to the still form, already knowing who lay on the ground.

"Clear." He heard someone yell out. Everybody's hands cleared Gibbs body. Tony stared in utter horror. Blood pooled around a hole in Gibbs chest. His eyes closed and his face pale.

"Please." He begged. "Don't let him die."

"One, two, three." A doctor said as they lifted Gibbs bloodied body unto a gurney. They started running for the elevators. Before the elevator doors closed behind them Tony heard the heart monitor flat line. He backed up into the wall and sat down on the cold floor. Sobs racked his body.

A lot of things can happen in three days.

**What do you think? Please review!**


	8. Why Do All The Good Ones Die?

Hey! Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long. **There is another chapter before this one** if you didn't read it. When I replaced the author's note it didn't show that I updated. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I could own this, do you think I'd be writing fanfics? I don't own anything.

Chapter 5

Why Do All the Good Ones Die?

Today was really not Doctor George Lane's day. First he got in a traffic jam that got him late for work. Then the Chief of Surgery yelled at him for being late and took an hour off his pay. Then his wife called at one to file for a divorce. He didn't even know there was anything wrong with their marriage. Things were starting to calm down by the afternoon so he decided to take a nap. He was awoken five minutes later by loud noises. He ran out of the room to see a man firing his gun at nothing. He looked behind himself to see a burly man firing back, but then he was gone in the blink of an eye. The older man was lying on the ground with a puddle of blood surrounding him. The doctor ran to the man and pressed his lab coat on the wound. He had been shot twice. Once near the heart and the other in the chest, probably puncturing the lung. Nurses and another doctor surrounded him. Josie, the head nurse, took out the paddles.

"Clear." She said. A man was yelling at them. Doctor Lane ignored him; he needed to stop the bleeding. They got the man in a gurney and ran to the elevator. He flat lined once he stepped foot in the elevator.

"Damn it!" He exclaimed. Twice isn't good. He grabbed the paddles from the nurse and yelled out: "Clear!"

He pressed the paddles on the man's chest. His chest lifted upwards with the jolt. No heart beat, he was still flat lining. He charged the paddles again and said the same phrase. This time the monitor showed one spike upwards. They waited with anticipation for the next one. Then it came, then another one.

"We're going to OR 2. Page Doctor Greene, Sally." He said to the nurse next to him. They entered the OR. The doctor took off the man's coat and ID. Sally checked the wallet for an allergy card. She didn't find any, but she found something just as interesting.

"Doctor, this man is Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS." The doctor nodded distractedly. They started surgery on their patient to take out the bullets.

* * *

"Tony." Ziva said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Tony was still sitting crouched down on the floor.

"I am so sorry Tony. We will figure out who this crook is like we always do." Tony shook his head. He looked up at her. His expression scared her. His eyes were red and his mouth was set in a hard, angry line.

"If he's dead..." He began, but couldn't finish. His throat constricted and his next words were stopped short. Ziva took him in her arms and hugged him.

* * *

McGee felt horrible. He should've told everyone what he had found out the moment he had figured it out. He knew what he had to do to redeem himself; he called Abby.

Abby was on the computerized telephone; she was talking with Ducky.

"I'm worried, Ducky. They haven't called in forever. They always call to let me know what's happening. What if something bad happened?"

"Abigail, my dear, you need to think clearly about this. I'm sure everything is fine. They are just working on a case." Abby's phone rang; she looked at the caller ID.

"It's McGee!" She beamed.

"There you go, my dear. I will get back to friend over here." He said pointing at a dead body out of the camera's range. He signed off the line.

"Timmy! What happened? Is anyone hurt?" Abby said in a rush.

* * *

McGee hung up the phone. The call had been emotionally draining. He had wanted to tell Abby everything, but he had to wait until she was at the hospital and more preferably sitting down. McGee took out his phone again and dialed the number she had given him.

"Maybe McGee made a mistake. Maybe everyone's wrong. It just doesn't make any sense." Tony babb;ed on trying to make out a logical explanation for everything that was happening around him. Ziva tried soothing him, but she looked pale and tired. She felt as confused as he was. The director walked through the entrance doors.

"I heard what happened to Gibbs. We need to get the team to a safe house." Vance said.

"No we're staying here with Gibbs." Tony said softly.

"We're not leaving." McGee added from the side.

"Once Gibbs is stable we'll move him to a safe house as well."

"Then, we're staying here until he can be moved safely." A voice said from behind.

"Doctor Mallard, Abby." He greeted the other two. Palmer came in shortly after.

"We can't leave him." Abby said in a pleading voice. The director shook his head.

"Of course not. You're a team." He said finally understanding the complicated family like relationship between these people.

"Do you have any witnesses from the shooting?" He asked. The agents looked between each other. They hadn't thought of doing anything beyond the shock.

"I'm on it." McGee said. Tony got up from his spot and followed McGee. Ziva was left to explain.

"Ziva, my dear, you look quite pale. Sit down." Ducky said motioning to a chair. She nodded and did as he said.

"What happened here?" Palmer asked looking at the disastrous state of the hospital. Vance explained about the killer who was after him.

"There's more." Ziva said in a small voice. "The killer knew things about our personal lives that few people knew." She looked in the direction of where McGee had gone.

"We need to find out how and where he got this information." She added. The group stared at her expectantly.

"The man found out who Tony's biological is. The files were sealed; Tony didn't even know who his father was until..." She stopped herself mid-sentence. Tony should be the one to tell them.

"Until?" The director coaxed her.

"Until... we figured it out." She said slowly, turning her back to them as if to dismiss the subject.

"What's his name?" The director said, not in a curious voice but one that needed facts.

"I feel that Tony should be the one to inform you."

* * *

So far the witnesses they had found hadn't seen anything other than the aftermath. McGee was emotionally and physically drained. He hadn't slept the previous night because of the things that he had known. He had been up for 30 hours and the recent events had only added to his exhaustion. He looked over at his partner; he looked even more drained then him.

"Look Tony, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"Don't sweat it." Tony said dismissing the issue.

"If I would've told you earlier all this" –he gestured around the room- "could've been avoided." Tony stared silently at McGee. He shook his head frustrated.

"It's the past McProby, don't dwell on it." He sounded angry.

"I get why you didn't tell me. I could've gone my whole life not knowing this. I always wanted Gibbs as a dad instead of my own... but I didn't really mean it. You know?" He looked at McGee; he knew. Gibbs had been a father figure to all of them, and all their dad's had sucked, so naturally, McGee had wished (more then once) that he had had a father like Gibbs.

"Yeah I know." He said giving his friend a sympathetic look.

"Where do we go from here?" Tony asked gesturing to the hall they were now in. Though he had meant it in more than one way. Where would his life go from here?

* * *

Babum, babum, babum. The sweet sound of a beating heart. Life began with it and ended with it. The sound of itmeant life.

"He's stabilized." The doctor said sighing in relief. Nurses smiled and others looked at each other in relief. They wheeled the special agent into the ICU.

* * *

"Family of Leroy Jethro Gibbs." A nurse called out.

"We are." Everybody said standing up. McGee and Tony still hadn't come back from their search.

"Only immediate family." The nurse clarified. The group looked at the nurse.

"We are." Ducky said. The nurse looked confused for a moment.

"Umm." She walked over to them hesitantly.

"Mister Gibbs is stable, but he's in the ICU because there is still a high probability of other problems occurring. We can have one visitor come into the room at a time."

Tony and McGee rounded the corner to find themselves once again in the waiting room. They hadn't come up with much. The damn guy was near invisible; no witnesses. Tony was the first to see the group huddled around a short, plump nurse. His heart skipped a beat and it took all his will power not to run over to the group. McGee looked at Tony and saw the anxiety written clearly on his face.

"What happened?" Tim said once he realized that Tony wouldn't.

"He's alright." Ziva said directing the answer to Tony. His whole body seemed to deflate with the anxiety he had been holding in.

"One visitor at a time." The nurse said sternly to the two men.

"You can go first to see him, if you want to." Ziva said. McGee nodded in agreement. Fear flashed through Tony's eyes.

"No, everyone else can go. I'll go last." McGee and Ziva seemed to understand his decision and they decided Abby would be the first to see him.

* * *

Seeing Gibbs like this was hard for Abby. The first time she saw him in a state similar to this he had developed amnesia. She didn't want a repeat performance of that.

"Oh Gibbs." She said sadly as she sat next to him. She took his cold, lifeless hand into hers and laid her head on his shoulder. She made sure she wasn't anywhere near the bullet wound. Then she began to cry.

"Why are the good people always the ones to get hurt... or die?" She asked into his shoulder.

_Because no one cares to notice when the bad guys die, they don't matter. What matters, Abs, is that we're on the right side. There are more of us on this side. _She imagined Gibbs say.

"You'll get better, I know you will. Thanks for the reassurance. I can always count on you." She kissed his cheek and laid her head back onto his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Tony decided it was time to face his father, or the man he had believed was his father his entire life. He opened the door to his room and stepped in. His father was awake, staring blankly at the wall. He turned around to see the source of the noise. His face lit up and a rare smile spread across his face.

"Tony." He said fondly.

"Hey dad." Tony said looking awkwardly down at his shoes. Anthony Sr.'s smile faltered slightly.

"I'm glad you came son." He said. He gestured for Tony to sit in the chair next to his bed.

"I found him." Tony whispered after for what seemed like forever. A look of confusion crossed Anthony's face.

"Them I mean." Tony added. Fear could be seen in Anthony's eyes.

"That's good." He nodded. He didn't want to lose his son, they had recently reconciled and then he had _the_ bomb shell onto his son. Now they talked to each other as though they were strangers. Tony seemed to sense this.

"Dad, you were the one that raised me. My feelings for you haven't changed, I'll always love you. You remember that movie I made you see, Look Who's Talking? The boy loved John Travolta even if he wasn't his real dad. He took the real father's place in his life, and in the end he was the boy's true father." Anthony chuckled; of course his son would use a movie reference to make him understand. He squeezed his son's hand.

"Her name was Shannon, my mother. She's dead." He shook his head sadly. He felt an odd emptiness when he spoke of the woman he never knew.

"My sister's dead too. I never got to meet her." He was on the verge of tears.

"And my father's dying." At saying these words all his barriers broke down for the second time that day and he cried. Anthony soothed his boy like he used to when he woke up from nightmares as a toddler.

"Dad, I don't know what to do. I don't know what I should feel for him. I..." He didn't know what else to say.

"Did you meet him?" Anthony asked finally. Tony nodded and an odd smile crossed his face.

"I've known him for over ten years." Anthony looked at Tony stunned.

"My biological father is Gibbs, dad. I don't know how it's even possible that we came to work together. Fate wanted us to meet, I guess." At first Anthony thought it was a joke, but the seriousness on his son's face convinced him otherwise. He stared at Tony, but couldn't see the resemblance to his boss. He had only met the man twice, but still he couldn't see it.

"Well shit."

**Please review! Tell me what you think. I hope to update soon.**


	9. The Diaries

Hey! Here's the next update. It's really short, sorry. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 6

The Diaries

Joanne had been waiting for this call for thirty five years. She was on the phone with a young man that worked with Leroy. She had gotten news that her ex son-in-law had been shot and might be dying. Once she heard this she started packing her things. But the boy wasn't done, he kept talking. He talked about Shannon and the baby she had given up. He said he knew who her grand-son was, that she had already met him. Joanne was stunned speechless when the boy, McGuy or McGee, whatever his name was, said that her grand-son was that obnoxious Tony DiNozzo. If he was her grand-son, shouldn't she have felt a connection towards him? Maybe she had and had ignored it. She couldn't remember. But McGee assured her that what he was telling her was indeed the truth. Joanne grabbed one last thing before she left. She went up into her dusty attic and opened a box that hadn't been opened since Shannon had died. She grabbed Shannon's only two diaries and stuffed them into her suitcase.

Hours later, once Joanne had arrived at the hospital, she realized that the place was chaotic. Ceiling lights hung broken, dust was still in the air and janitors were trying to clean up the area as fast they could while nurses and waiting families walked around them.

"Joanne, right?" A young man walked up to her, McGee.

"We're all waiting here. Ducky's in with Gibbs right now. Tony's talking with his dad." At Joanne's confused look he explained.

"His dad is also in the hospital. He had a mild heart attack a few days ago. Tony just needs to sort out what he found out. He… only found out today. It's been a pretty rough day for all of us." McGee said uncomfortably.

* * *

Anthony had fallen asleep a half hour earlier. Tony was procrastinating, he knew it. He didn't want to face Gibbs, even if he lay comatose But he knew that visiting hours were coming to a close and he needed to see Gibbs. He got up from his chair and made his way to the waiting room.

"Mrs. Fielding." He said in surprise.

"Tony, it's nice to see you again." She smiled. Tony felt awkward when she didn't take her eyes off him. He cleared his throat and she snapped out of it. She smiled tearfully.

"I never thought I'd get to meet you. I can't believe I didn't recognize you the first time I met you. I feel that as your grand-mother I should've recognized you." Tony shrugged.

"Gibbs didn't recognize me." Joanne smiled.

"But, he wasn't looking for you. I'm afraid to say that Shannon never told him of you." Tony stared at her slack jawed.

"But... how didn't he know?"

"He was off to some war ridden country for the whole pregnancy. Shannon was young and unmarried; she didn't have the money or means to raise you. It was a very hard decision for her, I assure you. I don't know all her reasons, but you might find them in here." She said handing him two books. He looked down at them.

"Her only diaries. She only wrote about you. She loved you."

* * *

Ziva entered Gibbs room slowly. She hadn't slept in awhile and was starting to feel weak. She didn't know if it was because of her pregnancy or the cancer. She sat down next to Gibbs bed and grabbed his hand. She took a deep breath.

"You are like a father to me Gibbs. You did so much more then my father ever could. I love you as a daughter should. You have to come back because there is so much more then you thought waiting for you here." Even if he couldn't hear her she didn't want to tell him the reason why he should come back, that was up to Tony.

* * *

Gibbs dream...

"_Leroy, did you see that?" Shannon asked excitedly as Kelly took her first step. He smiled up at her, a twinkle in his eyes. He nodded with a huge smile. _

_"Come to daddy." He opened his arms for Kelly. _

_She took another step, then another and fell on her bottom. Leroy laughed. Kelly's bottom lip jutted out and she let out a little wail. Leroy scooped his daughter up and hugged her. _

_"Daddy's here. Daddy will always to be here to catch you when you fall." Kelly giggled._

* * *

Ziva got up from her seat and walked back to the waiting room. She saw Tony standing with McGee and Joanne Fielding.

"Mrs. Fielding." She greeted, shaking her hand. She turned to look at Tony.

"Tony." She said softly turning to him.

"I know." He said. It was his turn.

**I know it was short but the next two chapters will be longer, they'll be about Gibbs and Tony and the one after will be about what it says in the diaries. Please review!**


	10. AN

Hello readers, so I know I haven't updated in a very long time. I am starting to change some things in the story because I've realized some things are really far fetched and unrealistic. So hopefully I will be able to start putting new updates out there but it will take a while to change some things around. I have another NCIS story that I'm writing that has a better plot and that I'm still working on that you can read, if you'd like. I'm also open to suggestions on what needs to be changed and any ideas for future chapters. Thank you all for reviewing and sticking to this story. Until next time! :)


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